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Indeed the 13th General Election has qualified as the mother of all
general elections. And it is no accident hence making the country most
vulnerable.
It is an election whose date is the most speculated and highly kept under wraps.
It is a battle deadline that is unprecedented in the history of
independent Malaysia – an agenda that is fiercely fought even before the
people go to the polls to decide who should be given the mandate to
form the next government.
Gutter politicking the worst ever
Never before have Malaysians being subjected to stooping so low to
discredit the political opponents. Ranging from alleged and proven
corruption to sleaze, sex, race discrimination to religious threats –
the run up to the GE13 is by comparison the worst ever in the history of
this nation that once many looked upon as the promising Tiger of Asia.
Millions of foreign workers will vouch that Malaysia is a land of
milk and honey as they cart away billions of cash back to their
homelands to give hope to their families over abject poverty and
grueling hardships.
While this post-colonial post-independence raid of the national
larder is championed and nurtured by the powers that be in modern times,
Malaysians meanwhile have been put on the dole with cash handouts as
temporary relief and caring incentives in the run-up to the 13th GE.
Such scenarios were never there in the past five over decades.
Just take a quick inventory of all the unending episodes drummed up
by politicians almost on a daily ration these past years: you-sue-me,
I-sue-you; you-expose-me, I-expose-you-even-more; cow-heads marches to
anger Hindus; pig-ears near mosques; Christian proselytization
allegations; unsolved high profile murders; claims of treason;
accusations of republic nation status inclinations – in fact the list is
unending really.
The question is why? Why are we witnessing a battle preparation that
very much sounds like a ‘over our crushed bones and dead bodies’
strategy?
Crushed bones & dead bodies: Refusal to move onto new political system
The easy answer is that politicians are not willing, nor prepared to
let the rakyat decide in a democratic manner who they want to vote in as
the next political party to form the government. The strategy is an ‘at
all costs we must win’. The end in itself justifies all and any means
taken – even if those means are crude, unjust, ridiculous, scandalous
and merciless.
The question then to go on asking is not why but how come. How come
we have arrived at this stage in our political nationhood despite the
five over decades of political, social, economic and environmental
progress and development that is often the staple, stated claim of the
BN-led government (Janji Detepati)?
It certainly has nothing to do with the drummed-up sacking of DSAI.
It is not confined to mismanagement nor mere corruption. It is not even
about a silent DAP-agenda, nor a PAS-hudud plan.
It is about a failed political system. And the very architect of that
diabolic, one-track minded power-consolidation politics is today still
fighting with his vintage life to keep a wrong right.
But civilization is dynamic
What worked well for a post-independent nation was not allowed to
evolve over the times. We were subjected to a non-negotiable road map
cast in concrete with a tunneled view. We were subjected to wear
blinkers shielding us from the global transformations taking place
quietly.
Drawing on the antiquated formulas of race and religion, the
political architecture being locked-in for Malaysia was myopic. As long
as it served the political masters well, the scavengers and parasites
quickly aligned themselves to provide the much needed fencing and
barricades that would ensure permanency to the political agendas of a
cartel of single individuals.
But little did the politicians realize that civilization is dynamic.
The world is evolving. The transformations are moving on. Humanity was
changing in its philosophy, understanding and aspirations. What worked
for the post-industrial world was not the panacea for the New Age that
was being shaped by information communication technology. Humanity was
re-discovering that new independence that the emerging networked society
offered.
Unfortunately in Malaysia, politicians are frozen dead in their
mindsets. Their attitudes do not in any way reflect the renaissance of
humanity sweeping across the planet. They are merely bent in going to
battle like the Genghis Khans of bygone eras.
No one is indispensable
Politicians step back. Stop. Think. Reflect.
You are not going to win this ‘war’ by fighting to keep your spoils.
You will only see yourself eventually being overwhelmed and swept off by
your forced-upon winnings. Remember Suharto? Marcos? Mao?
If you love the country – as much as you preach you do; if you uphold
loyalty to King, citizens and nation, then step back and stick to
honesty.
If you have delivered, you do not have to spin to convince the
voters. If you have failed in the past you do not have to threaten of
mayhem and chaos.
Nobody in the world, no one leader in any nation and no single
political party in Malaysia is indispensable. There are no absolutes and
this the BN must know fast.
The political architecture of thirty over years is failing and
incapable of meeting the challenges, requirements and dictates of the
New Age humanity. That is the reason why we are today witnessing a
perilous future as we witness the hardened battle cries of stubborn,
selfish, self-conceited politicians.
We need leadership to overcome the quagmire situation that threatens
the nation’s future. It is about a leadership that reflects the very
essence of the New Age humanity in Malaysia – one that sees beyond race,
religion, color, creed, ability and privileges. And any attempts to
kill off that leadership for the sake of party supremacy will spell
chaos.
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